Between the Plains and the Water
by FLandvik
Summary: The Ring War has ended and all Lothíriel of Dol Amroth and Éomer, the new King of Rohan, wished to do was return to their normal lives, but little did they know what was in store for either of them and their lives would join.


Chapter 1

Lothiriel

"Father!" I cried as I rushed towards him, forgetting about how I was supposed to act at this very moment. As soon as I felt his arms close in on me, it was if every burden was released from my mind and I felt tears running down my face.

"I told you I would be safe," I heard him reply, his voice cracking slightly giving away his emotion at our reunion. "This is no time for tears," he smiled as he gently brushed my face with his hand , kissing each cheek as he held me at arm's length.

"No greetings for me dear sister?", I turned and saw the smiling blue eyes of my brother Erchirion and as I embraced him Amrothos appeared by our side. My face almost hurt from smiling at that very moment, too long had I worried about the safety of my brothers and father - scared with every scroll that arrived in Dol Amroth with news of the waging war. "Both of you tell me everything!" I ordered as I was hungry to learn everything from their perspective, to know what I had missed.

"You three be good!" my father's warning rose over our voices, his voice ringing with laughter. "And Lothíriel, the King of Rohan will be sitting with our table this evening along with his sister and your cousin Faramir, please be kind to him."

"Of course father," I bowed slightly and then rushed away with my brothers.

"Wait!" I exclaimed trying to keep up with my brothers, but it was obvious that their stamina and endurance had greatened with their time at war, when suddenly they stopped and I slammed into Erchirion falling to the ground. As I looked up to see why they had stopped suddenly, I was greeted by the sound of laughter and a huge man standing before them, his hair almost the color of the sun itself and as long as my own.

"Min Hlæfdige," he spoke a strange language as he held his hand out for me to grasp. Hesitantly I placed my hand in his, feeling the rough skin of a man who worked with his hands. As I rose, a frown appeared on his face as he looked past me and dropped my hand quickly.

"Excuse me" he muttered and disappeared quickly into the crowd.

"How rude!" I exclaimed and brushed my dress to ensure it was free of dirt and looked towards Erchirion. "You two know that ill-mannered person?"

I watched as they shot each other a strange look before Amthoros turned to me, "That my dear sister was Éomer, King of Rohan."

"Well let's hope his eating habits are better than his manners," I stated and held my head high as I turned to leave the area. Some King, I thought to myself and dreaded the feast this evening knowing that that man would be sitting at our table.

"You should have seen them Riel, covered in markings all over their skin and even bones sticking out of their faces!"

"Amrothos! You lie!" I exclaimed at the thought of people actually sticking bones into their skin, let alone mark their skin with inks.

"I do not!" he exclaimed, feigning horror at the thought of lying to me. "Tell her Erchirion"

"It is true - the beasts that we fought against were grotesque in every manner, especially the orcs! I have heard though that King Éomer and his men disposed of many of them as well - and he fought bravely beside our father."

I took a deep breath and held up my hand in front of my brothers. "I love you both very deeply and I understand greatly that this King Éomer helped greatly beside our new King of Gondor and our father, but I am tired of hearing about how great he is. If truth be told, I do not wish to hear another word about this man. He's a barbarian from Rohan and nothing will ever change that about him - good deeds in war or not."

I watched as a strange look passed between them, and felt as if a secret was held between them - one that I was not privy to.

"What are you both thinking about?"

"How - strong you have become dear sister," Erchirion gushed and I bit my lip knowing that there was something the two were not telling me, and I was not going to be able to get the information from them easily.

"There you all are," I suddenly heard my father's voice in the court yard and our heads turned quickly to face him. "The feast is in less than an hour - all of you go get dressed now. Lothíriel, I've had a gown brought to your chambers, one that Queen Arwen thought would suit you for this evening's festivities."

"But father, I have many gowns here," I stated confused at his sudden interest in my appearance. "But if Queen Arwen has suggested it, I shall abide by her wishes."

"That will make - her very happy," he replied with a smile but I had caught the hesitation in his words as he spoke. "Now - go all of you in haste and be ready in our main entrance."

"Yes father," the three of us replied in unison and left the court yard of our lodgings here in Minas Tirith to get ready for the feast - the only redeeming factor in my mind to see my dear Faramir.

"Dear sister, you truly have turned into a woman while I was away," Erchirion whispered in my ear as I joined the rest of my family in the main entrance, my father nodding at my appearance.

"Be sure you thank Queen Arwen for the outfit, and she was right as usual - you look truly magical," my father stated as he held out his arm to escort me. Even though it confused me greatly still the need for my appearance, I was grateful of the outfit as nothing I owned even came close the sheer fabrics that layered and hung and I felt the old elven blood line of Mithrellas and Imrazôr shining through in me.

"You need not remind me of my manners father," I laughed gently , but as we entered the grand hall I felt my breath stop looking at the banners hanging throughout the room and the presence of elves throughout the hall.

It was then that a familiar face came to my side and I felt my arm drop from my father's side and my arms wrap around the man's shoulders.

"Oh Faramir, it has been too long! You cannot even begin to imagine the horrors I dreamt of while you were all away. You must tell me your tales later, as I imagine they are different than my brothers," I gushed as I kept my hands around his shoulders.

"You have not changed, besides become more beautiful," he smiled as he leaned forward and brushed my cheek with his lips. Truly my cousin grew more and more handsome each time I saw him, and truthfully there were times that I wished we were not as closely related as we were. It was then I noticed a woman off to the side dressed in white, glaring at me with eyes the color of a blade.

"My dearest Lothíriel, there is someone that I wish for you to meet," he spoke as he released his hands from my waist and stepped back so as to stand at this woman's side.

"Éowyn, I introduce my cousin Lothíriel, Princess of Dol Amroth, daughter to Imrahil. Dear cousin, this is Éowyn, the White Lady of Rohan and future Lady of Ithilien."

I gasped as I heard the words slip from his mouth, but quickly smiled and nodded my head towards the woman. "Well met my Lady," I warmly stated and watched as a small smile appeared and disappeared on her face, but her eyes remaining cold and calculating.

"Shall we?" my father stated as he gestured for us to find our table as there would be plenty of time for socializing after the meal. It was then that I noticed the figure near the table with his back to us; long golden hair flowing past his shoulders reflecting against the deep green tunic he wore. My fascination quickly dissipated as he turned and recognized the scowl on his face, Éomer, King of Rohan.


End file.
